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44 images FEBRUARY 2017
PF PROMOWEAR
and sunflower are also big movers for promotions,” says Mark.
“Retailers use a lot of red garments for in-store sale promotions
and at certain times of the year our factory is often a sea of red
garments.”
Other advances affecting promowear include the development
of discharge inks, and the demand for a softer ‘hand’, reports Peter.
As ink has evolved, so has the printing technology, with DTG both
causing and responding to a change in what customers demand.
“Direct-to-garment has enabled cost effective, reduced orders and
the ability to market printed merchandise without holding stock
and produce it on an order-by-order basis,” says Peter. He notes
that the volume of individual promowear orders is now smaller and
orders are repeated more often instead.
Price was, is and probably always will be a key factor for those
buying bulk promowear, although Jon comments: “25 years ago
it was more a problem of supply than price – supply of the shirts
because they just didn’t exist, or because printers were slow due to
manual carousels.”
In today’s market, however, there is increased buyer awareness
and expectations thanks in a large part to the internet, which Sam
believes has been the biggest game changer for the industry. “It is
so easy for anyone to access information on pricing, print meth-
ods, quality etcetera and receive quotes from competitors, that
you have to make sure you are always on the ball and the best you
can be. I think the modern, internet generation expects speed,
efficiency and quality as standard.”
Result Headwear:
Boston Printers Cap
Result says its Boston Printers Cap
(RC084X) is perfect for the promotion-
al market. This 260 gsm, 65% polyes-
ter/35% cotton, five-panel cap with
a seamless and stiffened front panel
outsold all the other cap styles in
2016. “A key attraction of the cap is its
fantastic Result ‘Core’ price point with
massive stock availability,” explains
the brand. “It also offers eye-catching
marketing in a brilliant colour range
with the all-important tearaway label.”
It comes in a choice of 16 colours and
is suitable for embroidery and transfer
printing.
w Finden+Hales: Men’s Piped Polo Shirt
The top selling promowear item from Finden+Hales is its Men’s Piped Polo Shirt
(LV370). Made from 100% polyester, permanent wicking, CoolPlus piqué in 200
gsm, it is available in 14 colours. It is made with a micro piqué surface which can
be easily printed or embroidered and the wide choice of shades ensures that every
colour requirement is catered for.
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Spiro: Team Spirit
Polo
According to Spiro, its
Team Spirit Polo (S177M&F)
offers superb quality, colour
co-ordination and a large size
range, which is why it’s Spiro’s
bestseller. “With a flattering
new grey/lime colourway
added for 2017, the Team Spirit
Polo is a top performing polo
and is the ultimate in stylish,
functional design,” says Spiro.
It’s made from the brand’s
lightweight, high tech, durable
Cool Dry mesh fabric – a highly
breathable fabric that keeps the
body cool and comfortable at
all times.
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Sol’s: Imperial
Sol’s bestseller is the
Imperial (11500), a unisex
T-shirt in 190 gsm, semi-
combed cotton jersey,
which comes in a range of
41 colours and in sizes XS-
5XL. It has been designed
for all types of markets
and many decoration
techniques. “In addition
to having a perfect fit, all
the Imperial garments are
also extremely comforta-
ble to wear thanks to their
ringspun cotton material,”
says Sol’s.
w